1. Are the characters of Tenderness interesting? What traits makes them interesting or uninteresting?

2. Do you actually like any of the characters in the book?

3. What does Eric Poole mean by the word tenderness? What does Lori mean by it?

4. "Eric Poole did not dream." Why is this significant?

5. "Without emotion, without feeling, we're animals," says Lieutenant Proctor. This is an interesting turn of phrase. Don't writers usually associate emotions with the animal in people, rather than the other way around? Is Lieutenant Proctor right?

6. Is there anything likable about the novel's protagonists, Eric Poole and Lori? Why would Cormier make two villainous figures the focus of his novel?

7. Does Lori change Eric Poole? If so, how and in what way?

8. What is The Charm? How does it work? Why do people fall for it? Why do others not fall for it? What is Cormier...